Pass Reform Of Baker Act

March 14, 2004

A state Senate committee has taken a key step toward reform of Florida's mental health law. The full Senate should follow suit.

The Judiciary Committee approved a bill (CS-SB 700) that would give judges clear authority to order people with severe and persistent mental illness into community-based outpatient treatment. Currently, courts can order inpatient treatment, but only if sufferers are deemed to be an imminent danger to themselves or others. Under this legislation, failure to take prescribed medications would be grounds for court-ordered outpatient treatment.

Florida is one of only nine states that do not explicitly give judges this authority. Consequently, its jails are overflowing with "frequent fliers," a term used by police and others to describe people whose chronic mental illness causes them to be arrested repeatedly for minor offenses.

The cost of dealing with "frequent fliers" in the criminal justice system is staggering, so it's good to know there's a better way. New York and other states have found that allowing court-ordered outpatient treatment dramatically reduces criminal recidivism, saves money and provides more effective care for the mentally ill. No wonder the Florida Sheriffs Association has made this reform of the Baker Act its top legislative priority.

Studies show that when people with severe and persistent mental illness receive appropriate treatment, they are no more violent or dangerous than people who are not mentally ill. It is when they fail to comply with treatment that they become dangerous to themselves or others. Waiting until they reach the breaking point before ordering them into treatment often means waiting too long.

This important reform passed the House last year, but died in the Senate. Neither the state nor the mentally ill can afford to go another year without it.